Chinese mainland responds to Taiwan leader's appeal for resumption of talks

Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's clear recognition of the agreement reached by the two sides of the Taiwan Straits in Hong Kong in 1992 could directly lead to the resumption of cross-Straits dialogue and negotiations.

An official with mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) clarified the country's stance on the "1992 Consensus" Sunday in response to Chen Shui-bian's appeal to restart cross-Strait talks based on the Consensus.

"If Chen disregards or distorts the historical facts on the Consensus, refusing to accept 'one-China' principle and is bent on 'Taiwan independence,' he only proves his insincerity about restarting talks across the Strait and will runs counter to the expectation of the international community," the official said.

The official explained that the "1992 Consensus" refers to a meeting held between the ARATS and the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) of Taiwan held in Hong Kong in late Oct. 1992.

The precondition of the Consensus, the official noted, is that "both sides of the Strait adhere to the 'one-China' principle," which is also one of the key issues discussed during the meeting.

"If Chen would clearly acknowledge the precondition as well as the facts, while discarding his 'one country on each side' principle and 'Taiwan Independence' position, ARATS and SEF could resume talks," the official said.

If Chen disregards the historical fact of talks in Hong Kong in 1992, refuses to accept the one-China principle, and sticks to Taiwan independence, it shows that he does not intend to resume cross-Straits talks, said the official. "This will run counter to the expectations of compatriots from both sides and the international community," he added.

The official offered an explanation of the events leading up to the 1992 Consensus.

As exchanges in trade, economy and other fields across the Taiwan Strait had increased since late 1987, Taiwan authorities adjusted its policy of "no contact, no concession and no negotiation" and set up the SEF to contact and negotiate with the Chinese mainland over problems as they occurred, he said. In order to promote exchanges across the Strait, the Chinese mainland agreed to hold negotiations by establishing ARATS in December 1991.

At the start of negotiations, he recalled, ARATS maintained that it was essential to persevere in the "one-China" policy in negotiations and agreements, despite great political differences of the two sides then.

On August 1, 1992, Taiwan's "national reunification committee" reached a conclusion about the connotation of the "one-China" policy, stating that though there are different understandings of the principle, both sides across the Strait should agree with "one-China," he said.

This concession by Taiwan paved the way for the agreements achieved by the "1992 Consensus."

A Summary of the Wang-Koo (Wang Daohan and Koo Chen-fu, the leader of SEF by then) Talks published by the SEF in August 1993 stated that the consensus reached by ARATS and SEF were quite clear: both sides had worked hard to seek common points while reserving differences in elaborating the political content of "one-China."

Talks ended in July 1999 when former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui redefined cross-Straits ties as a "state-to-state relationship."

Chen Shui-bian has denied the existence of the consensus in a bid to shun the one-China principle since he took office in May 2000. But since October 10 this year, Chen has claimed to be willing to use "1992 consensus" as the basis for re-starting cross-Straits talks.

"1992 Consensus" on "one-China" principle

As exchanges in trade, economy and other fields across the Taiwan Strait have kept increasing since late 1987, the Taiwan authorities adjusted its policy of "no contact, no concession and no negotiation" and set up SEF to contact and negotiate with the Chinese mainland over problems occurred. The Chinese mainland agreed to hold negotiations by setting up ARATS in December 1991 to promote exchanges across the Straits.

At the start of negotiations about affairs concerning both sides of the Taiwan Straits, ARATS put forward that it was necessary to persist in the "one-China" principle in negotiations and agreements, though the political content may not be discussed as long as the "one-China" stand is advocated, and the ways to express "one-China" could be fully discussed.

The "national reunification committee" in Taiwan also reached a conclusion about the content of "one-China" in August 1992.

From Oct. 28 to 30, 1992, the ARATS and SEF held negotiations over the use of notarized documents across the Strait in Hong Kong, and each side proposed five definitions about the ways to express the issue of adherence to the "one-China" principle, but failed to reach a consensus.

SEF representative soon suggested that both sides could state their stands orally and added three other oral expressions, and ARATS were asked to take down the verbal expressions about the "one-China" stand tabled by the SEF.

On Nov. 3, SEF informed ARATS of the oral expression about "one-China" it tabled being approved by the relevant leading department in Taiwan. ARATS agreed to the SEF's suggestion of stating the "one-China" attitude based on their respective oral explanations in a letter sent to the SEF on Nov. 16, but emphasizing both sides of the Straits persist in the "one-China" principle and work had to pursue reunification, without talking about the political meaning of one China in negotiations of affairs concerning both sides of the Straits. The SEF showed no disagreement in its letter of reply to ARATS on Dec. 3.

A Summary of the Wang-Koo Talks published by the SEF in August 1993 stated that the consensus reached by ARATS and SEF were quite clear: both sides had worked hard to seek common points while reserving differences in explaining the political content of one China.

By People's Daily Online